As the performance of general-purpose information processing apparatuses such as a personal computer improves, texts, tables, images, and the like can be easily edited/created by various application programs.
In general, texts, simple tables, and the like are created by a document editing application program, images are created by an image editing application program, and tables with relatively complicated operation are created by a spreadsheet application program. In this manner, the user selectively uses an application in accordance with the purpose.
A document for one purpose is formed from only one type of data such as only a text, only a table with numerical operation, or only an image, but a situation in which a document containing different types of data is created is increasing.
To prepare a document formed from a plurality of types of data, each part of the document is created, edited, and printed by a corresponding application. Then, respective parts are rearranged in order and combined.
However, to assign page numbers to pages when the user creates one target document by combining printed materials generated by various applications, the user must print out all necessary data, combine them into a paper document as a printed result, and then determine page numbers to be assigned. Each application writes determined page numbers on respective pages (to be referred to as logical pages or document pages) of a document created by the application. Even if the application program has a function of assigning page numbers, the page numbers of discontinuous pages must be designated by the user. If the pages of the target document are rearranged, page numbers must be reassigned in accordance with the rearrangement. These pages must also be edited and printed again by a corresponding application when not data contents but merely the format is changed so that a plurality of document pages are combined into one page (to be referred to as a physical page or print page) as a print material, or single-sided printing is changed to double-sided printing.
Since an application which manages data changes depending on the type of data, the user must manually provide an interface between applications. This means that much labor is demanded of the user, decreasing the productivity. Especially creation of a document for one purpose by sharing respective parts between a plurality of users by using application programs on the PCs of the users is confusing, and readily causes errors owing to operations by many users.
To solve the above problems, the assignee of the present applicant has proposed a technique of forming one bookbinding application from various applications (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-162407). The bookbinding application in this reference can manage a document by a hierarchical structure having a book, chapter, page, and the like, and can execute various settings and changes for each layer via a setting window or the like.
However, the bookbinding application cannot efficiently perform various settings and changes to any layer of a document having a hierarchical structure.